The average T&E expense report filer in 2012 spent
$3,244 per quarter, a 4.5 percent decline from 2011, according to a Concur report
developed with research firm IDC and released this week. About 93 percent of
that drop happened during the fourth quarter of 2012.
"The dip is likely due to a set of exogenous
macroeconomic events, such as the impact of Hurricane Sandy, uncertainty about
the U.S. presidential election in November and the fiscal cliff negotiations
that extended into the first days of 2013, rather than any broad corporate efforts
to cut back on T&E spend in the fourth quarter of 2012," according to IDC
vice president of cloud services Robert Mahowald.
Claiming to process about $50 billion in annual expense
transactions, Concur examined aggregated expense report data for calendar years
2011 and 2012.
Among key travel expense categories, average dining costs
during 2012 dropped the most, 11 percent, to about $289 per filer per quarter,
followed by car rental and airfare, down 9.1 percent and 8.2 percent,
respectively. Concur's report attributed
those findings to T&E spend being "kept closer to home, necessitating
fewer air tickets, meals and entertainment."
Lodging and personal car expenses declined by the smallest
margins, each by 3.8 percent.
Meanwhile, Concur's expense reporting clients in 2012 spent a
total of $58 million on ancillary air fees. At about $183, the average airline
club fee jumped 27 percent from a year earlier. The average transaction amount
for priority access and ticket change fees each increased by about 11 percent.
"Like itemizing a receipt, looking at individual spend
categories lets you make choices about how you handle policy exceptions, like
airline upgrades, and 'frills' like airline club memberships," according
to Mahowald. "It's all part of the drive to look deeper at the data and
make smart policy decisions."
Overall, small and midsize businesses spent more per filer
per quarter, about $2,537, compared with large businesses, roughly $2,051.
While SMBs on average spent less on airfares—$363 per trip versus $424 among
larger companies—they paid 45 percent more on average hotel rates.
According to the report, the lower average hotel rate paid
by larger companies likely is due to their ability to negotiate favorable
agreements with major hotel chains and better direct employees to frequently used
properties.